Throughout history, crises have often led to collapse – but not always. An international team of researchers, including members of the Complexity Science Hub (CSH), highlights four cases where societies under extreme pressure avoided breakdown through adaptive reforms, identifying three key factors that helped them “turn the tide.”

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common gynecological disease that affects women of reproductive age and is characterized by hyperandrogenism, ovulatory dysfunction, and polycystic changes in the ovaries. In recent years, along with irregular menstruation and infertility, metabolic abnormalities associated with PCOS have garnered increasing attention. Insulin resistance is the most prevalent metabolic abnormality in patients with PCOS and is closely related to disease progression and severity.

Despite impressive progress being made in investigating the mechanisms underlying endometriosis, the pathophysiology of this disease remains unclear. Although typical methods used for diagnosing endometriosis such as ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging, and blood tests are available, these are also inefficient, and effective noninvasive diagnostic methods are lacking. The advances in high-throughput omics techniques have enabled metabolomics to become an effective approach for discovering promising biomarkers. The aberrant metabolism associated with serious symptoms of endometriosis in women has been revealed in recent years. Analyzing the global metabolic patterns in patients with endometriosis may help deepen the understanding of the disease mechanism and have a significant impact on future diagnostic and treatment methods for endometriosis. Herein, we reviewed relevant studies on metabolic changes in patients with endometriosis and discussed the changes in metabolites both in biological fluids and endometriosis tissues. The findings discussed in this review have potential diagnostic implications and will enhance the understanding of the pathophysiological processes underlying the disease.

Numerous studies have consistently demonstrated that a considerable proportion of patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) frequently exhibit pronounced dyslipidaemia. However, the causal dynamics between MDD and dyslipidaemia remain elusive. To comprehensively disentangle the genetic causality between MDD and various phenotypes of blood lipids, thereby facilitating the advancement of management strategies for these conditions.

Researchers at Osaka Metropolitan University uncovered early hepatic changes associated with type 2 diabetes by analyzing primary hepatocytes from prediabetic Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty rats.